Joseph Butler

On October 29th, 2018 I was watching The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix when I noticed something odd. In episode three, during the court scene, there was a painting in the background that looked very similar to my original work. I decided to make a facebook post to get some other’s opinions on the two works in question. Overwhelmingly, people agreed with what I was also seeing. It appeared that the show had copied distinct elements of the original painting to create the one used in the background of the scene. The post quickly gained momentum and was shared repeatedly on social media. The next day, I was contacted by Alex Dalbey from the Daily Dot to write an article on the situation. At the same time, I already reached out to the production team on the copied work and was put in contact with their lawyer. The lawyer explained that my painting was used by mistake, and they wanted to mend the error with licensing the work for both past use and future use. The work is now officially licensed to be used for the show, with the possibility of future licensing endeavors with the company. I am thankful that there was no need for a lawsuit, and that everything was handled with a high level of professionalism and courtesy.

A side by side comparison of the two paintings. My original work, Satan(left) and the painting from The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina(right).

Satan, 30’’x40’’, Acrylics on canvas, 2016 — *Satan,* 30’’x40’’, Acrylics on canvas, 2016

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, P1:E3 Chapter Three: The Trial of Sabrina Spellman